So... Should I keep using Firefox Preview or from now on Nightly is considered more stable? I really don't get this.
A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
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Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
#12I have Firefox Preview installed on my phone and it is set as my default browser, but I still keep the original Firefox for Android, because: - Preview is missing support for Add-ons. This was a huge advantage of Firefox for Android (for me this means, that I cannot use uBlock.. the built-in ad blocker is good, but uBlock is better) - There are limited settings available in Preview. (e.g. what I am missing a "downloa…
I also have Firefox Preview installed on my phone. It's set as default but I basically don't use it, because:
* Preview lacks support for ad blocking.
* For some reason, every time I open a link in Firefox Preview, it goes into "Private" mode and there's no option to stop that from happening. I think it used to ask me, and one time I said "Private" and ever since then it's been in private mode - it asked me every time till I said "Private" and thereafter it's never asked me again. This means I can only use Preview for the links that transiently get opened, because I can't even find the normal tabs without closing Private browsing.
Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
#13If Firefox pushes this before implementing support for extensions (namely uBlock or other ad-blocking / privacy extensions) then Firefox is well and truly toast on Android. Correct me if I am wrong but the only reason non-tech people use Firefox on Android is to block ads. Perhaps this is a push from Mozilla to try and get some search revenue flowing again?
For me personally, uBlock (and other extensions) is the only reason I am using Firefox on Android. If this feature is removed, I will either go back to Samsung Browser or check something else.
Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
#14Wow, I am pretty surprised by this decision. I've been using Firefox Preview for a while, and while I do enjoy the new approach, I still regularly encounter bugs, including those that make me lose open tabs or other regressions for which I need to keep Firefox ("regular"?) installed.
Not to mention the lack of addons (ad-blockers) and the fact that this announcement is completely useless and void of information. ("Brand new experience", whoa.)
What is happening, Mozilla?
Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
#15Earlier quoted context omitted.
"Requires Android 5.0 and up" according to the Play Store listing. Android 4.x is from 2013 and had its last update in 2014. It hasn't received security patches since October 2017. Why should Mozilla continue to support such an ancient version?
Because millions of people are using it and can't change easily? It's not that I don't get your point, but the amount of Android 4.x that I encounter is really big, maybe it's my humble environment, but still.
All of the 4.x versions together make up just over 10% of Androids used, according to Google.
Pretty much every single 5.x version has a bigger share.
It's reasonable to give that up if it makes development easier / the end result more secure, imo.
Edited to ask: why is switching not easy? Even cheap phones come with far newer versions these days...
Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
#16Is it me or this article is really vague? What's the new experience, exactly?
Also, I started using Firefox on my Android phone because of 2 reasons: block ads and Google seems to be more and more for-profit and not for-users. And I love Firefox with one exception: when I press a link on another app Firefox doesn't open but gives me a small notification on the bottom the screen saying the tab opened in Firefox. I find this really annoying as I wouldn't press a link if I didn't want to browse it right away.
Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
#17Given https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5315 and https://github.com/mozilla-mobile/fenix/issues/5630 are still open, does this represent a regression in supported functionality for nightly users?
Reading the faults, particularly the second one, it seems that uBO will be supported, but the issues they're having is with how to sync settings between desktop and mobile if you don't use sync...
Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
#18Doesn't work in my (widely used) Android version. I'm a long time Firefox user and feel abandoned.
"Requires Android 5.0 and up" according to the Play Store listing. Android 4.x is from 2013 and had its last update in 2014. It hasn't received security patches since October 2017. Why should Mozilla continue to support such an ancient version?
Firefox: "Consider ways to reduce your digital carbon footprint"
Also Firefox: "Throw out your perfectly fine phone and buy a new one! Do not think about the slave labor and environmental/climate costs that will go into producing it."
(I feel critical of Firefox in this thread, but I wouldn't dream of using Chrome. Mozilla are at least half decent and aim towards ethical behavior. But it would be nice if they let us do the things they recommend.)
Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
#19Earlier quoted context omitted.
Because millions of people are using it and can't change easily? It's not that I don't get your point, but the amount of Android 4.x that I encounter is really big, maybe it's my humble environment, but still.
All of the 4.x versions together make up just over 10% of Androids used, according to Google. Pretty much every single 5.x version has a bigger share. It's reasonable to give that up if it makes development easier / the end result more secure, imo. Edited to ask: why is switching not easy? Even cheap phones come with far newer versions these days...
Not to be snarky, but Firefox itself is probably below 10% market share globally, so according to that logic, developers should not bother testing compatibility or performance with Firefox (but I agree with your overall point or sentiment !)
Re: A new browsing experience arrives in Firefox for Android Nightly
#20Is it me or this article is really vague? What's the new experience, exactly? Also, I started using Firefox on my Android phone because of 2 reasons: block ads and Google seems to be more and more for-profit and not for-users. And I love Firefox with one exception: when I press a link on another app Firefox doesn't open but gives me a small notification on the bottom the screen saying the tab opened in Firefox. I fin…
That feature is called tab queue, and it can be disabled in settings.